Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/550652
10 Executive Briefing: Infection Prevention Improvement There are three areas of supply management that hospitals and other health- care facilities must focus on to ensure products remain sterile and free of contaminates, according to Ms. McClenathan. They include: 1. Manufacturer defined product sterility. There are two ways product sterility can be compromised, including: • Event-related sterility. Product integrity can be compro- mised due to some specific event (i.e. it was exposed to moisture, had its packaging torn, crushed, etc.); or • Expiration date. The product has passed its manufactur- er-designated expiration date. Workers should be sure to check product expiration dates and the integrity of the pack- aging before using them on patients. Products should also be rotated so that the oldest products that have not yet ex- pired are used before newer products. 2. Product storage. If a product is not stored appropriately, it may no longer be considered sterile. For instance, sterile products storage must follow manufacturer and regulatory agency recom- mendations. This includes being stored in a place at the right tem- perature, right humidity level, appropriate air flow direction and number of air exchanges per hour. Traffic should be limited and workers should be wearing the appropriate attire to be in sterile storage areas near supplies. Ensuring appropriate sterile product shelving is also crucial. Shelves shouldn't be near windows, doors, sinks, vents or pipes, and bottom shelves should be covered to keep out dirt and dust. Additionally, sterile products should be immediately removed from outside shipping boxes that may be contaminated with debris, in- sects, fungi or bacteria. 3. Cross-contamination in the OR. In the OR, products should be kept in a closed container during a surgical procedure and transported while covered to prevent aerosolized bioburden con- tamination. Nurses and OR staff should also be sure to check whether products can be dropped on the sterile field or must be opened by a circulating nurse and handed directly to the scrub technician. "Compliance failures in any one of these three areas significantly increase the risk of infection and readmission for patients," said Ms. McClenathan. Improving sterile supply management is a goal that staff at any level of the hospital can achieve. For instance, hospital executives can: • Support capital needs for providing an appropriate environ- ment to house supplies • Endorse supply procurement and purchasing initiatives such as Kanban or perpetual ordering systems to increase prod- uct turns and support product integrity • Back the continuous improvement work of the infection con- trol director and OR director Surgeons can: • Maintain cost awareness among other staff members • Use up all existing product stock before switching to a new brand and eliminate the mindset of keeping old or obsolete sterile products around "just in case" • Find a surgeon champion who can collaborate with other sur- geons to standardize the types of products used, decreasing inventory that can potentially be contaminated OR staff members can: • Work to reduce the handling of products, often referred to as "touch-points" by updating preference cards at a minimum annually, and even bi-annually if possible, and removing products from preference cards than haven't been used dur- ing the past twelve months or an agreed upon span of time • Make sure products are always covered and contained in- teroperatively • Bring as few products in the OR as possible and transition from the mindset of picking products that may be needed "just in case" to the mindset of leaving products that can be picked, if needed, "just in time" Implementing tactics like the ones above takes time and is al- ways challenging. It may be more difficult in smaller, stand-alone hospitals that are not part of a larger system, where surgeons or clinicians may threaten to leave if they find the rules disagreeable. In larger health systems there tends to be more tolerance of these necessary processes, according to Ms. McClenathan. Still, the goal of improving sterile supply management is an important one for all hospitals looking to reduce infections and readmission. n Surgical Directions LLC is a national consulting firm based in Chicago that assists hospitals in improving the operational, financial, and market performance of perioperative and anesthesia services. Our consulting team is led by nationally-recognized, practicing anesthesiologists, surgeons, and surgical service professionals experienced in organizational design, block time, surgical scheduling, patient throughput, materials, staffing, strategic planning, and physician relations. Team members have successfully helped over 500 hospitals nationally increase surgical volume, improve clinical outcomes, improve surgeon satisfaction, improve anesthesia satisfaction, and enhance overall perioperative performance. leader in perioperative consulting offers or, central sterile leadership interim and permanent placements perioperative & anesthesia assessment · interim management 312.870.5600 www.SurgicalDirections.com STABILITY TRANSITION challenge of change leadership can be disruptive to any organization; critical forward improvements can be hampered or even stopped by the loss of At Surgical Directions, we believe finding the experienced your need is critical to making the transition to new leadership need support for current initiatives or to move in a new direction, professionals will help you meet your needs in a time of change. interim or permanent placement, we provide experienced, leaders. Our candidates are thoroughly screened and we match experience to meet the specific needs of your situation. Our proven make a seamless transition. interiM and perManent placeMents in: Services – Nursing Managers and Directors Services – Nurse Educators Services – Business Managers Processing Department – Managers and Directors provide you with leadership that will insure stability time of transition. during during The goal of improving sterile supply management is an important one for all hospitals looking to reduce infections and readmission.